Average Everyday Sane Psycho: Thank you so much!!!

Chapter One

Noah jogged down the hall to catch up to his son who, clipboard in hand, was making his rounds before his break. "How'd it go?"

"It didn't go." Patrick slowed to let Noah catch up before picking up his pace to a brisk walk once more. There were bags under his eyes and his mouth was strained. "I can't tell her. I just….I can't. I don't want to see that look of disappointment in her eyes."

"She'll understand," Noah assured him, "Robin knows that you're a good person but she also knows that people make mistakes- she doesn't look down on me and look at the mess I've made of all of our lives."

Patrick stopped, leaning against the wall, "it's different for you. She found you passed out in a bar, she already knew what was going on. But me? This is going to come out of left field. It'll be a complete shock and honestly? I still can't believe it, myself. What kind of brother am I?"

"The kind that lost his mother," Noah replied, "we all loved her and we all reacted to that in our own destructive way."

Shaking his head, Patrick switched his clipboard to left hand. "I never gave him a second thought. I just went off to school and left-"

"Left him with an alcoholic." Noah supplied self-deprecatingly, "you didn't do the most damage to Zachary, Patrick. I did. I couldn't look past my own pain to see this little boy…drowning in the grief of losing his mother. I couldn't see your pain…I could only see the bottom of a bottle." Swallowing hard, Noah looked down at his hands. That guilt would rest on his shoulders for as long as he lived. It was why he didn't seek happiness anymore, why he didn't look for love. Not just because he didn't think anyone could mean as much as Maddie did…but because he didn't deserve to be that happy, not after his selfishness. "Did you talk to that Coop guy?"

Patrick shook his head, "he's pulled a vanishing act every time I've tried."

"I know that this is terrible for you but…I hope he is in town, Patrick. I want to see him, I want to…make sure he's okay, you know? I searched for him after I got sober but the most I turned up was that he worked for a carnival for a while, traveling with them."

"Yeah," Patrick bit his lip, "I'd like to see him too…I just don't want to tell Robin what I did, leaving him like that, never even calling…"

"I know," Noah sighed, "I know."

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"Logan Hayes this is Zachary Drake."

Logan extended his hand after Coops' introduction and Zack took it, "it's nice to finally meet you, Zack."

"Ditto," Zack replied, letting go of his hand and turning to Coop.

"So did you really spend more time in Juvie then high school?" Logan asked straight away as they headed towards a back table at Kelly's, "or was Coop exaggerating?"

Coop sighed heavily, "that's not exactly what I said, Logan."

Zachary sat down across from them, perfectly calm and collected, his expression neutral. There was something…off about Cooper's childhood friend, Logan couldn't quite put his finger on it. He sat so still, so calm and his face that of a statue. He met his gaze directly, unflinchingly and yet it was like he wasn't looking at him at all. "Yes. I spent three and a half years in Juvenile Detention Centers and then an unfortunate incident got me put in prison when I turned eighteen."

"How long did you spend in there?"

"I was in there until I turned twenty, that was two years ago. I finished probation last year and have been traveling since."

The waitress approached and they ordered some burgers and fries, "hey Penny, when does Georgie go on her shift?" Coop asked, raising his eyebrows.

The waitress glanced at Maxie's sister who was sitting by herself, completely absorbed in a book. She looked cute in her straight legged jeans and her fitted white tom and jerry tee shirt with her brown hair in pig tails. "Oh, Georgie doesn't work today. She just came for some coffee and the book she left here last night. She's the only girl I know who can read through an entire dinner rush."

"Georgie." Zack repeated, eyes settling on Maxie's sister.

"She's the smart, nice one right? Hey, is she seeing anyone?" Logan asked.

Coop glared, "no and she's going to stay that way. At least, the two of you won't change that."

"Simmer down there, Sport." Logan put his hands up in the air, "do you have a thing for sisters or something?"

"Maxie would kill me if you dated her." Coop answered emphatically, "she and Georgie may fight like cats and dogs but when it comes right down to it I think they'd pretty much do anything for each other."

"And yet…she's nothing like Maxie. How does that happen?" Logan smirked, "Georgie so wholesome and…nice. Two things your girlfriend definitely aren't…I mean if she is still your girlfriend."

"Can it, Hayes."

"Does Maxie even know how to read?"

"I'm seriously getting pissed off."

"The married sister," Zack finally stated, "am I right? She's the one that got married to…that rich guy. Dillon?"

"Good memory," Coop acknowledged, "and yeah, Maxie said that he was going to die or they thought he was anyway, so they got married. Then Lulu told a bunch of lies to break them up so she could have Dillon. It worked. Lulu slept with Dillon, got pregnant and had an abortion."

Zachary didn't look like he was paying attention anymore, his gaze settled on the table and then back up onto Georgie.

"So she is single." Logan replied triumphantly. "And these people live very confusing lives."

"Seriously Logan, don't even think about it. Maxie would skin us both."

Looking smug he turned back around to the table. "You just gave me quite the incentive, Coop." Before Coop could reply he was striding across the room and sitting across from Georgie. She didn't look up from her book, she only flipped the page, completely oblivious to him. "Hey." Still no reply. "Georgie Jones?"

Her head jerked up, "I'm sorry," looking flustered she put her book down. "Oh. Um…Lulu's shift doesn't start for another hour."

"I'm not looking for Lulu."

She bit her lower lip and tilted her head to the side. "Um….can I help you?"

Chuckling, he glanced back at Coop who was seething. "Actually, I think you can. You see, I was thinking about enrolling into PCU and I was told that you're the golden student around here."

Folding her hands over the table, Georgie shrugged, "I do okay for myself."

"Now that's an understatement. Maxie says you're brilliant."

Georgie chuckled, "Maxie has a lot of faith in me."

"He's going to enroll in how to stay the hell away from my sister." Logan turned around to see Maxie standing behind him, scowling deeply. "Georgie this guy is a first class jerk, very holier then thou. Don't give him the time of day." She pulled up a chair and sat next to her, "as for you, Logan, she's way out of your league."

"Maxie, he wasn't hitting on me. He just wants to enroll in school."

"Oh right." She slapped her forehead, "silly me, why didn't I think of that? Oh yeah, that's right, because I'm not naïve. Logan doesn't care about school, he just wants to make an easy buck."

Logan glared, "all you know about me is what Coop has told you."

Georgie stared at him for a moment, then looked at her sister. "Wait, Logan….is this the guy that walked in on you and Coop?"

"And basically called me a slut? Yeah. Same guy."

Groaning, Georgie stood up. "Do you know what prejudice stands for? It's not simply racism or sexism- although the latter is something you subscribe to if you're going around spouting off hateful words like slut- it means pre-judgment, as in judging someone ignorantly."

"Did they teach you that in school princess?"

"Yeah," she responded, bitterly, "preschool, actually. I guess it just never sunk in for you."

"Way to go, Georgie!" Maxie leaped up to her sister's side, "lets go get some ice cream."

"Sounds good." Georgie snatched her book up and began out the door but Maxie stopped right in front of Coop's table.

"You know, one fight and you sic your jerk friend on my sister? Thanks a lot, Coop."

"Come on Maxie, let's just get out of here, okay?"

Coop looked straight at Logan scathingly. He moved back to Coops' table and shrugged, "I thought you said she was nice."

"I gotta go." Zack stood, not bothering to say goodbye, just walking out the door.

"Thanks a lot." Coop muttered, pushing his chair out angrily and stalking up the steps to his room.

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"There you are!" Robin smiled broadly, pulling Patrick into a kiss at first sight. He swung her around, picking her up and seating her on the table, continuing to kiss her, Oblivious to their surroundings. When they came up for air, Patrick tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Long time no see, Stranger." She teased.

"Work has been busy," he answered, keeping his voice flirtatious. He had been hoping she hadn't noticed his avoidance. "We have a date tonight, right?"

She nodded, "absolutely. I made sure there was nothing more I could do to help Noah with the Nurse's Ball and so tonight I'm all yours."

Arms around her, Patrick grinned. "Sounds wonderful. It's a glorious day so I was thinking a romantic walk through the park, maybe a picnic?" No one had ever felt more right in his arms then his Dr. Robin Scorpio and if he were a blessed man she would remain in his arms for as long as he lived. It was so difficult to picture a life without her when once it had been almost impossible to see himself with anyone long term. What a change for him- but a pleasant one.

"As long as I don't have to make it!"

Laughing, he shook his head, "we'll do take out from Kelly's.

"No more Chili."

"I promise." He kissed her again savoring the sweet taste of her lips, smiling against her mouth at the memory of Robin spilling chili all over her silk blouse the last time they were at Kelly's Thankfully she didn't get burned. He couldn't help but tease her about smelling like chili for the rest of the day though. "Although there may be whip cream involved later."

"Mmmm, I like the sound of that."

"Dr. Robin Scorpio to the Nurse's Station. Dr. Robin Scorpio to the Nurse's Station."

She wrinkled her nose, "just when things started to get interesting."

Patrick grinned, "well no worries, there won't be any intercoms at the park."

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"Maxie, I have wonderful news." Mac announced as she and Georgie entered their home, they both looked up expectantly. "I volunteered you to help Bobbie plan Lucas' Welcome Home party, won't that be fun?" He was already dressed for work, how Maxie would love to put him in something other then gray suits.

She smiled sweetly, "sorry Mac, I have plans. Guess Georgie will have to do it."

"What plans? You and Coop are fighting." Georgie argued, tossing her purse onto the couch and sitting next to it, "besides, I'm busy all this week."

"You've been out a lot lately," Maxie observed suspiciously, "where have you been?"

Her sister shrugged, "some friends from school started a study group for the summer. Speaking of, I should get ready, we have group tonight." She jumped to her feet, kissed Mac on the cheek, snatched her purse and barreled up the steps, leaving Maxie to stare down the man who was going to turn her week into dullsville.

"I think it's good that Coop is out of your life."

"Of course you do." Maxie rolled her eyes, arms crossed over her chest, "you always think it's great when I'm single. Besides, it's one little fight that I started, he's not out of my life."

"Well Coop or no Coop, you're going to help Bobbie with this party. I'm sure Lucas would appreciate it."

"She's just trying to make up for her bad reaction to him being gay. Why do I have to suffer for it?" Maxie complained.

He raised his eyebrows, "because it's the nice thing to do?"

"Fine, fine. I'm better at planning these things then her anyway. Still, I know what you're doing. You're trying to keep me busy so I stay out of trouble." She tossed him a glare, "idle hands and all that- I get it, okay? I'm trying to be better."

"Maxie, I don't want you to be better, I love you just the way you are. I just don't want you to hurt yourself anymore- you're a lovely girl and I want you to see that." He walked over and kissed her forehead, "you know that right?"

"I know, I know."

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The growling was soft from outside the door. He hadn't come in contact with the dog formerly known as Snowball or Frostbite or Ice-cream or whatever. He couldn't recall. Now he was named "Artful Dodger" or affectionately called "Dodger" by Georgie. Coop wasn't positive on how the name and ownership change occurred and he had been meaning to ask someone about it, out of sheer curiosity but that had to wait. It was far more important that he see this desperate plan to its neat little end.

And there was no other name for sitting on the bed of your on again off again girlfriend's little sister's room to beg for help then desperate. Georgie was his only hope, sad as it was, to find some kind of insight into what was going on with Maxie. Bicker as they did Cooper knew they were close and he needed to use that to his advantage. Yup. Desperate.

Georgie's room was a reflection of what little he knew about the younger Jones' sister. Her entire back wall was a bookshelf without an empty spot on it. From what he could tell it was sorted alphabetically. The other walls, colored in light blue, had various posters plastered on them. One said in bold letters; Feminism is the radical notion that women are people - Cheris Kramarae, another poster for the movie Pride and Prejudice, there was a print of the Mona Lisa and a few band posters. On the right wall there was her desk and dresser. On the mahogany desk which looked incredibly heavy was her laptop, a stack of folders, a stapler, a framed photo of Maxie, Mac, Robin and herself, a jar full of writing utensils and beneath it was a paper shredder and a garbag can. On the matching dresser there was a mirror with an array of photos on the side. Cooper stood from her twin bed and walked over, taking a closer look at the pictures Georgie kept. One was a prom photo where she stood with a Hispanic guy about her age, another was a large group of girls, she was to the right arms wrapped around a pale Emo girl with thick framed glasses and a goofy smile. There was a picture of Maxie and their mother Felicia, Mac, some guy and a very young Robin and another of the Emo girl from the group photo. None of Dillon which was the only real surprise Coop could find in the room.

The books, the desk, the neatly made bed with navy blue blankets to match her carpeting and light blue walls, the absolute cleanliness of it, that was all Georgie Jones. It was the way she held herself and the way she spoke, it was in how careful she was to watch over her sister and not let Mac down. Being there didn't feel like an invasion of privacy for him, it felt like visiting a friend or his own sister. It was a strange notion to have considering they had spoken all of three words to each other over the months and hers had been suspicious of him. Sitting back down on the bed, Coop sighed. A few minutes later he heard her voice out the door. "Awww, what's wrong Dodger?" There was a pause, "I don't remember closing this door. Poor Dodger couldn't get to the bed, huh?"

She opened the door, eyes focused on the floor until the dog rushed past her, jumped on the bed and Coop was face to face with a snarling black and white pup. Instinctively he put space between he and the dog, standing up and backing towards the bookshelves. "What the- why are you in my room, Coop?"

"Keep your voice down," he warned, "and can you call off Kujo?"

"Dodger is very protective of me." Georgie responded caustically, "he's not going to back off until I'm calm. So why don't you just tell me why you're in my bedroom so that can happen?"

"I need to talk to you about Maxie but I didn't want her to know."

"Why not?"

Coop cleared his throat, still nervously glancing at the dog. "Because she'd hate it if I asked you for advice. Did she tell you why we're fighting?"

Georgie shook her head, "which is weird, she usually can't wait to tell me those kinds of things." Her look was pensive then she bent down a little, "Dodger, down." The dog immediately turned towards Georgie and padded over to her, tail wagging as she gave him a few pats. When she straightened out the puppy sat at her feet and simply stared at him. "So before you tell me about this fight, I have a few questions for you….like why is Sonny Corinthos telling my cousin that you're a criminal?"

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"You look blue Noah, what's wrong?" Robin asked as she approached her boyfriend's father. Both he and Patrick had been out of sorts the last couple of days- when she had managed to see either of them anyway. It was like they were trying to avoid her. When he didn't look up from the chart in his hands Robin frowned, "Noah?"

"Oh, Robin, hi, sorry." He smiled sheepishly, "I guess I was daydreaming."

"About?"

"It's embarrassing." Noah responded slowly, "so how are you?"

"Oh, good. I just wanted to see if you had any ideas for what I could bring to a picnic with your son."

"A picnic, huh?" He smiled, "Well when he was young he could and would eat anything you put in front of him." A small laugh follow, "but I don't know about now- I'm sure you could tell me more about my son then I know."

Robin reached out and took his hand, "give it time, you two are just getting to know each other again. I think it's a good thing, you know?"

Noah nodded, "I'm…enjoying knowing my son again. I spent so long wrapped up in myself…"

"You were hurting," she reminded him kindly, "and I understand that."

For a moment he just stared at her as though his heart was in a thousand pieces. It had been so hard for him, to lose Maddie and she beyond anyone could understand that. Losing Stone had been one of the biggest hurdles she had to get over in life. His death had left reverberations that have yet to fade. He was shaking his head, still feeling guilty over the past. "I…I have to go."

He took off so quickly she couldn't even ask him to stay. It was as though he hadn't made up with Patrick at all, that's how he was acting. Robin sighed heavily, it was becoming more and more difficult to sort through the drama and angst that filled the Drake men.

And Patrick told her she was complicated.

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"A mobster calling me a criminal. God I love this town." Cooper shook his head, walking away and looking out Georgie;s window. "Yeah, I've made a few mistakes- who hasn't?" He stopped then turned to her, "well…except you. Apparently, according to everyone, you're perfect."

"Well, I think that's a debatable topic but we're not discussing me, Coop. We're discussing you. What mistakes have you made?"

"I'm trying to move past that," he continued on, ignoring her question deliberately. He tried to tell himself it wasn't her business, that all he needed was Maxie's approval- but it wasn't true. Of course someone like Maxie would understand. Do-gooder Georgie was another story and he couldn't handle the lecture and the yelling he'd receive. "I'm trying to move past that with Maxie but she's not letting me. She's starting stupid fights, this is the third one and it's really over nothing. She's avoiding me, flirting with other guys I know she wants me. I know it as sure as I know my name. I just want to know why she's trying to push me away."

Georgie opened her mouth and then shut it again.

"All I did was tell her that I love her. I mean I know it's fast but…I can't help it. I felt it that fast. Then she told me that she had to go, that she had an appointment. An appointment?" He shook his head, "she wouldn't tell me what it was either- which isn't surprising considering she didn't actually have one."

"And then?" Georgie urged.

He shrugged, "and then she left. I met her for lunch the next day and we argued about her fixation on hurting Lulu. She stormed off and has been blowing me off ever since. Hell, when I do see her she makes damn sure she's chatting it up with some other-" He stopped short as Georgie's cell began to go off.

She turned to her dresser and picked it up, putting it to her ear. "What's up?" A long pause, "Of course I'll be there. I'm always there." She glanced at him then turned around, "I'm busy right now- talk later? Very cool. " When she turned around she placed the phone back on the dresser, "study date," was her absent explanation. "And as for…what happened with Maxie, I'm not trying to be a brat but- I really don't know, Cooper. I don't know you, I mean. You could be bad news, you could hurt her. So I need to know why Sonny Corinthos is telling Robin you're a criminal before I impart any kind of advice other then if you hurt my sister I'll hurt you."

"That's not advice, that's a threat."

"So what is it? What did you do?"

He took a deep breath. "I was the kidnapper who was locked in the vault with your sister. I was Three."

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"Noah, are you alright?" Bobbie asked as she set the coffee down in front of him. He knew he looked like hell, that his hair was mussed and his eyes were red. His mouth watered for a drink much stronger then a coffee but he couldn't go back there. That kind of escapism is what brought him to this place.

He wasn't alright…

Part of him wanted to tell her that.

When he looked up, forced a smile and saw concern in her imploring expression he wanted to weep in her arms and reveal everything that wasn't alright. He remembered the comfort he had found in Bobbie, the passion there- but he couldn't tap into that. It would be horrible to use her and he was still very much in love with his Maddie.

Maddie.

Zachary had always been his mother's son. He had her eyes, her smile and her red hot temper. When he was just a little boy it had only been Maddie that could calm him when he was upset, only Maddie that he would adhere to. And where did that leave them now that she was still gone? He was still a mess. Patrick still had his own life and Zachary was…well he didn't know how Zachary was.

"Thanks Bobbie, I'm fine."

She shook her head, "you're not fine, you're pale and those bags under your eyes could fit my entire grocery list. What's wrong? You can confide in me, Noah- I'm your friend."

She was his friend. That much was true. But unloading on her wasn't going to change anything at all.

"No, really, I'm alright." He insisted and sipped the coffee, swallowing down the bitter flavor. "How are you?"

She smiled brightly, "my son is coming home soon- I'm more then elated."

He wished he could say the same. He wanted to see his son, he did, but a part of him was more scared then happy.